Today the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued permits that Canadian oil giant Enbridge, Inc., needs to build an oil pipeline across some of our state’s most treasured natural areas. The proposed route, which crosses 186 northern Wisconsin waterways and hundreds of acres of wetlands, is upstream of Copper Falls State Park and poses a huge risk to the Bad River watershed and Lake Superior.

“Wisconsin law makes it clear that projects causing harm to our waters must meet a high bar to move forward,” says Clean Wisconsin attorney Evan Feinauer. “Given the enormous impacts that construction of this pipeline would cause, we are skeptical that the proposed project meets these legal standards.”

The permits issued by DNR allow Enbridge to begin clearing trees, digging trenches and filling wetlands in northern Wisconsin to make way for the pipeline. Clean Wisconsin’s attorneys and scientists are reviewing the documents to determine whether they meet the high bar set by the law and are based on reasonable scientific assessments of the all the harms construction will cause.

“We will evaluate what actions are needed to protect our state,” Feinauer said.

Under state law, Clean Wisconsin can challenge the permits and petition a judge to pause construction until the challenge is resolved.

For more information on the Line 5 tar sands oil pipeline, visit Clean Wisconsin’s Line 5 web page.